Page 17 of My Brother's Enemy
“What? Fucking?”
“I—” I clamped my mouth shut, heat coming to my face because of course he would just be blunt about it. Why wouldn’t he? He probably never struggled in this area. He was a hockey god. His problem was turning options away.
His phone continued to ping and buzz incessantly, which wasn’t helping my flustered state. Finally I reached into his pocket and pulled it out. I hit accept on whoever was calling. “He’s in the middle of somethin—” I stopped because whoever was on the other side began sobbing.
Tyler had an odd expression on his face as I handed the phone to him. “It’s for you.”
He took it, his eyes not moving from mine for a beat before he looked at who had called. He pulled in a breath and turned his back to me as he raised the phone to his ear, “Ski?”
Oh no.Shock punched me so hard I fell back against the doorway of the rink, my elbow jamming. His sister. His twin, and I was the reason she… No, no. I couldn’t go there. Iwouldn’tgo there. Not now anyway. I’d been trying to work on that guilt. My therapist a long time ago had said it was misplaced, and maybe she was right, but I still felt it burning through me.
But it was yet another reason this thing between Tyler Griffin and me couldn’t happen.
He spoke to her in hushed tones, moving farther away. I felt hollow inside. That feeling was always there but watching him care for someone he loved made me ache. Jealousy, real and bitter and toxic, speared me, and I once again returned to high school.
But there was no point in going backwards. There was nothing for me there. I’d been a burden since I was born. My oldest brother loathed me, and I was invisible to the other one. I could never decide which one had been worse—being ignored or receiving the hatred Daniel, my oldest brother, spewed at me. I’d gone numb to survive it all, and the only long-term relationship I had, the guy had treated me the same way my brothers did, so there must’ve been something wrong with me.
I thought I had accepted that no one would love me, but hearing Tyler speak to his sister that way, jealousy hit me hard.
I turned away, needing space, and slipped back onto the ice.
Getting out here tonight had been hard, but now I welcomed the challenge. I’d always been fast on the ice. Sometimes my brothers had utilized my speed. That’d been one of the rare times Daniel gave meanysort of attention, though I was just basically his on-ice assistant. They’d used me for drills because I was faster than them.
I’d loved those times with them, though I hated to admit that. I knew now I’d been deluding myself, scrambling for the scraps they gave because I’d had no idea what I was actually missing.
Regret hit me hard, making my knees weak as I circled the rink, because I’d let them take skating away from me.
Not anymore. Not ever again.
I pushed myself faster, needing to escape.
When I looked up again, much later, Tyler was gone.
13
TYLER
The Gray’s PR manager was Kashvi Kumar. I thought I’d met their head of promotions and marketing already, but I was wrong. I’d met Kashvi’s assistant and a few others on the social media team. But Kashvi, as I was now seeing in action, ran the show.
I was going to meet Benoit’s reporter friend, but Kashvi had decided it wasn’t going to happen at the rink. She thought a nice hotel suite had a better feeling, and I agreed. She had asked if five in the morning was too early or too late, and while it was probably a little of both, everyone had agreed.
So, after whatever that had been with Rain at the rink, I drove to the hospital, told my sister what was going on, held her until she fell asleep, and then fell asleep as well. The nurses had long ago brought in a cot, and there was also a large chair in the room, so that gave us both enough space to sleep if I stayed.
It didn’t matter where we were, if I was with my sister, I could sleep. I’d learned that years ago, and it was somewhat comforting to know it was still true, even at the ripe age of thirty-one. We had a game tonight, so I still got a few hours of sleep.
When I got up to go, Skylar decided to stay at the hospital, trusting me to handle this for her. The team had a morning skate later, but there’d be time after the interview to go back to Skylar’s place or the hospital for another decent nap. If I could talk Ski into going home for a few hours, that’d be the ultimate power nap for me. She needed new clothes and a shower, along with some decent rest, and I wasn’t above telling her she reeked and that Zoey wouldn’t want that tidbit leaked to any media outlets. How embarrassing. It’d make her laugh, but I hoped it would work too.
“Tyler.”Kashvi met me in the hotel lobby, a tray of coffees in one hand, her phone in the other. She tucked the phone under her elbow long enough for us to shake, and then she had it back out and was typing as she indicated the elevator. “I got the room ready. I’m so sorry we’re meeting for the first time under these circumstances. I’ve been out on maternity leave. Welcome to the Grays, by the way.” She pushed the elevator button and the doors opened.
As we entered, I gave her a quick once-over.Maternity leave?She was tiny. “Uh, congrats on your baby as well.”
She pushed for the eleventh floor, then chuckled. “Thank you. My wife is the one who had the baby. The Grays are progressive. They gave me maternity leave as her partner. We were both grateful, but my wife was the most. She needed to sleep. A lot.”
“Wait, are you still supposed to be on maternity leave? You’re not coming back for me?” I hoped I wasn’t the reason her time with her family had been cut short.
She shrugged. “It’s more like you’re the excuse.” She flashed me a grin just as the doors opened. She started down the hallway first. “I started getting antsy last week. I was ready to come back, but Cora’s been in heaven having all of us together. When I got the call about your niece, I knew it was time to return.”
I winced.
